Benidorm

For the TV series, see Benidorm (TV series)

Template:Spanish cityBenidorm (IPA: in Valencian [beni'dɔɾm], in Spanish [beni'doɾm]) is a Valencian coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. According to the 2004 census, Benidorm has a permanent population of 64,956 inhabitants, ranking as the fifth most populous town in the Alicante province, although the population exceeds half a million in the summer, since it is one of the most important holiday resorts in Spain. It has an area of 38.5 km² and a population density of 1,593.56 inhab/km².

Benidorm is particularly popular with working class British tourists.

Until the tourist industry began in the 1960s, Benidorm was a small village. Today it stands out for its hotel industry, beaches and skyscrapers, which were built as a result of its tourist-oriented economy. Benidorm has three major beaches: Levante, Poniente and Mal Pas; all of them have a blue flag, the maximum quality standard recognised by the European Union. The tallest building in Spain, the Gran Hotel Bali is a 4-star hotel standing 186 meters high, is located in this city.

In 1954 Pedro Zaragoza Orts, the then young Mayor of Benidorm, created the Plan General de Ordenación (city building plan) that ensured, via a complex construction formula, every building would have an area of ‘leisure’ land, guaranteeing a future free of the excesses of cramped construction seen in other areas of Spain. It is the only city in Spain that still adheres to this rigid rule, and if you climb to the top of the Sierra Helada, the promontory at the end of the Rincon de Loix, you get a stunning view of how green the city is and just how close it is to the mountains.

Each summer, since 1959, the city celebrates the Benidorm International Song Festival, a song contest where international or Spanish celebrities like Julio Iglesias, Raphael or El Dúo Dinámico became famous.

Benidorm also has several theme parks, for instance Terra Mítica and Terra Natura which are located just outside Benidorm, at the foot of the mountain. Other Theme Parks include Aqualandia and Mundomar located on the outskirts of the city on the Levante side.

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